Heirs of the New Earth (22 page)

Looking at her wrist chrono, Eva realized she should get back to the house to see if anyone had returned. On her way back, she passed a small observatory. Across from it was an extensive graveyard. Cooper pursed her lips as he looked out across the sea of tombstones and pondered the fact that most of the island's residents were, in fact, dead. Her eyes caught several dates: 1682, 1723, 1955, 2230. How much human experience was buried in this one graveyard? How much would be lost forever if the Cluster succeeded in its mission?

With a sigh, Eva continued on her way. She arrived at the house, just as the sun reached the horizon. There, she found that Mark and Kirsten had returned from their own walk. Fire and Manuel had also returned from their excursion.

"What I still haven't figured out is if Swan's here on Earth, who the hell is minding the store back on Sufiro?” Manuel was asking Kirsten.

"Who knows?” said Kirsten. “Swan didn't tell me and I didn't think to ask."

Manuel rolled his eyes. “He probably didn't bother to leave anyone in charge. We'll be lucky if we have a planet to go home to, even if we
do
beat the Cluster.” He dropped onto the couch and Fire sat down next to him.

Eva pulled up a chair and listened as the others began discussing plans. It was agreed that Fire and Manuel should go to Titan while Mark would stay on Earth and see if he could get back to the Cluster once the Proxom wore off.

"Only problem is,” said Mark, “I was booted out. They may not let me back."

"But, you do have to try,” said his mother. “Besides, Richard wants to talk to you and G'Liat. Even if you don't make it back to the Cluster, you can do more good there. You and Richard understand each other."

"Who knows what thoughts G'Liat might try to put in that whale's mind,” said Kirsten. Mark couldn't tell whether she was joking or serious. Before he could decide, Kirsten stood up suddenly. “I almost forgot.” She reached into her shirt pocket, took out the scrap of paper that Swan had given her back in Tucson, and handed it to Manuel. “Edmund asked me to have you deliver this message to Ellison Firebrandt."

Manuel unfolded the paper, read it and laughed. He handed it to Fire who read it, then punched Manuel's shoulder. “You know Edmund's completely serious, don't you?” asked Fire with an expression that seemed at once bemused and worried.

"Yeah, but wouldn't it be better if I went to Arizona to help him? Doesn't he trust old Manuel?"

"I wouldn't,” said Fire. Kirsten choked back a laugh. “Thing is, it sounds like Edmund needs Dad to send a spaceship to do what he's thinking about,” Fire continued.

"How the hell's Ellison going to get a spaceship? The only ship he has is the
Legacy
and it's been grounded for 50 years,” said Manuel, turning serious as her bemusement vanished entirely, leaving only worry. “Wouldn't it be better if we just went to Alpha Coma and found someone to send reinforcements?"

Fire folded the note and put it in her pocket. “You know my father—he'll find a way to get Swan the help he needs. There's always Arepno,” she said, her voice growing distant. After a moment, she looked at Kirsten and smiled. “I'll make sure Dad gets the message."

With that, Mark stood and went to the teleholo room. He contacted the
Sanson
and filled Simon in on the plans. The first mate seemed relieved to be able to put some distance between himself and Earth. When finished, Mark returned to the living room and hugged his mother and shook Manuel's hand. Fire and Manuel then left for the spaceport where they boarded
Sanson's
launch. Simon Yermakov activated the ship via remote control and brought it up to orbit. Once they were settled aboard the mapping vessel, Yermakov sat back in the command seat. “Set course for Titan, Ms. Peters."

"Aye, aye, sir,” she responded.

That night, the house seemed strangely quiet as Mark, Kirsten, and Eva ate dinner. Throughout the meal, Kirsten caught Eva stealing glances at her and Mark and she found herself wondering what was on the doctor's mind. Eva's brow was knitted as though she was deep in thought, but her eyes were moist, as though she was feeling sad about something. She poked listlessly at her food and when she wasn't stealing glances at Mark and Kirsten, she was looking off into the distance.

Mark, on the other hand, was eating furiously. It made sense—he hadn't eaten for over a day. The captain didn't seem to notice Eva much at all, or Kirsten for that matter, as he wolfed down his food. When Kirsten had walked with Mark earlier in the day, he had been largely preoccupied with the idea of getting back to the Cluster. That night, Kirsten found herself glad that Eva had given him a dose of Proxom and she would have the captain to herself for at least one quiet night before everyone went their separate ways again.

"President Walker said that the Cluster spoke to her emotional core.” Kirsten jumped at the sound of Eva's voice. “Captain, what was it like for you to be with the Cluster so long?"

Mark wiped his lips on his napkin and thought. “Seductive,” he said at last. Earlier in the day, Mark had described the experience of waking up aboard the
Pequod
in orbit around the black hole to at the center of the galaxy. “I was fed an extraordinarily real vision. It would have been very easy to stay there."

"Were you in control?” asked Eva. “Or, was the Cluster?"

Mark frowned and thought for a moment. Finally, he shook his head. “I was able to move around within the reality that was presented. I was able to manipulate that reality to some degree...” He shook his head. “The problem is, though, it was a reality that I enjoyed being in so much that I didn't really push the boundaries as much as I could, now that I think about it."

"It was ... seductive,” echoed Eva. She sighed. “Jenna Walker is being seduced and so are most of the people on this planet. Those who are alive, that is."

Kirsten thought she heard a hurt that was deeper than simply concern for the Earth's Commander-in-Chief. Half-consciously, she put an arm around Mark's shoulder as she wondered whether she might have lost him to the Cluster, completely. She looked into his eyes and noticed that they were staring through her for a few seconds before they refocused on her. After a moment he smiled at her. She withdrew her arm, finished dinner, and then cleared her plate and glass from the table.

Mark stood and retrieved a third helping while Eva slowly finished her first and Kirsten stepped over to the couch and turned on the teleholo. It almost surprised her to see one of her favorite comedy shows rather than another rerun of news. The show gave Kirsten a fleeting sense of normalcy before goose bumps stood up on her arms and she had to change channels. She heard Eva comment, “It must have been something to grow up on this island."

"It was,” said Mark as he finally finished his dinner and cleared his own place at the table. “I suppose it's a little like growing up at the center of the universe."

Kirsten turned and shot him a glance.

"Those of us who grew up here—had families on Nantucket for generations—are islanders. All the rest of you are off-islanders.” He smirked at that last comment.

"Does that include the Cluster?” asked Eva whimsically.

"Yeah,” said Ellis, putting his plate in the cleaner. “I suppose the Cluster would be the ultimate off-islander."

"How does the real center of the galaxy compare to Nantucket?” asked Kirsten.

Mark Ellis settled down on the couch next to Kirsten. “Not as many summertime tourists,” he said. “But, the swimming is nowhere near as good.” He looked up at the teleholo and noticed that Kirsten had settled on a movie about the first humans to travel to Saturn. The ship they'd used had been a heliogyro—a kind of solar sailing ship that looked a lot like a pinwheel. He shook his head, thinking that the ship on the teleholo wasn't really all that different from the wooden sailing vessel he'd stood upon that morning, orbiting the black hole at the center of the galaxy.

Kirsten made an exaggerated yawn and stood. “I think it's time for bed.” She stood and held her hand out to Mark. Caught by a dramatic moment in the movie, Mark almost begged off until he looked up. Seeing the look in Kirsten's eyes, he took her hand and followed her to the stairs. “Good night,” called Kirsten to Eva.

"Good night,” called Eva, distracted. Whether she was distracted by her own thoughts or the movie on the teleholo, it was hard to tell.

Up in the bedroom, Kirsten closed the door as Mark sat on the bed and pulled off his boots. Slowly she unbuttoned her blouse and then hung it over the room's chair. He reached up and took her hand and she sat on the bed next to him. They kissed and his hands roved her warm, silky-smooth back as she unbuttoned his shirt and let her hands explore the hairs on his chest, then moved over his nipples and, at last, pushed the shirt completely off his arms.

Standing a moment later, he stepped to the window and closed the shutters. When he turned back to the bed, her slacks were on the floor. The captain stepped back to the bed and she unbuckled his trousers and lowered them to the floor. They lay down next to each other and he massaged her breast, watching her nipple rise to the gentle caress of his thumb.

Her breath caught and she rolled onto her back. Mark kissed her while she guided him into position. Slowly, he entered her and sighed. As he began a slow rhythmic thrusting, she reached up and stroked his hair and looked into his eyes and said, “I'm glad Nantucket's the center of your universe. I'm glad you came home."

Ellis shook his head. “Nantucket's not the center of the universe. You are.” And, right at that moment, he believed it.

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A loud beeping sound caused Manuel Raton to sit bolt upright in bed in a cold sweat. Strong but slender hands caressed the hairs on his chest and eased him back down onto the bed. “What the hell time is it?"

"I set the alarm for 10 a.m. ship's time,” mumbled Suki Firebrandt as one of her hands drifted lower while she nuzzled Raton's neck.

"Why's it still dark outside?” asked Raton, as he looked toward the window and blinked in confusion.

Getting the reaction she sought, Fire rolled atop Raton and took him within her. “That's because we're aboard the
Sanson
you idiot.” She felt him meeting her thrusts. “Of course, it's about four in the morning Nantucket time."

"We should have gotten to bed sooner,” he said, reaching up and twirling her long, silver-streaked black hair with the one finger. His hand moved down, to cup her full breast and he was pleased to hear her sigh in response.

"We got to bed in plenty of time,” Fire breathed. “What we should have done is gotten to sleep sooner. We should be at Titan within the hour.” She leaned forward and kissed him, delighting in the way his bushy mustache tickled her lip. With that, the two stopped talking, escaping into the moment.

A short time later, the sheets curled about their feet and Fire pressed against Manuel's side, he asked, “So, any idea what we're actually going to say to the Titans? Are we just going to barge in there and ask why they haven't sent in the cavalry?"

"Something like that,” she laughed, “but I thought I might try a little more tact. Seriously, we're going to need to go through channels. Natalie Papadraxis is supposed to have called ahead and scheduled a meeting with Valentin Lifshitz, the human ambassador to Titan.” She kissed Manuel on the nose, then clambered out of bed and walked over to the shower unit. She turned it on, and stepped in. Grudgingly, Manuel climbed out of bed and laid his clothes out. “Aren't you going to join me?” asked Fire.

"I thought you'd never ask,” said Manuel and he stepped into the shower.

As she soaped his back, Manuel thought about the Titans. Aside from the Cluster, they were the most ancient race in the galaxy. At one time, the Cluster had subjugated them the same way the Cluster was subjugating humans now. They provided creativity and a means to accomplish tasks—giving the Cluster a purpose. “What if the Titans don't have any ideas about how to defeat the Cluster?” asked Manuel. He turned and she soaped up his chest.

"They were subject to the Cluster for millennia, surely they know something about how to defeat them,” said Fire, her brow knitted.

Manuel took the soap and began lathering Fire's back. “Yeah, but in the end, they only escaped from the Cluster, they didn't defeat them. Maybe they're still just as helpless."

Fire sighed. “Still, they managed to escape.” She turned and smiled as Manuel took extra time soaping up her breasts. “In the end, all we need to do is escape. We don't really need to defeat the Cluster."

Manuel stepped under the running water and rinsed off, then stepped aside to allow Fire to rinse herself off. “Yeah, but the Titans lived in fear for millennia after their subjugation by the Cluster—fear that the Cluster would find them again. Don't we want to put an end to the Cluster once and for all?"

Fire didn't answer. Instead, she turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, found a towel and dried off. She tossed another towel to Manuel then dressed in silence. They found their way to the ship's mess hall where the ship's pilot, Laura Peters, was waiting for them. “Mr. Yermakov wanted me to let you know that we've been granted permission to enter orbit around Titan. I'll be piloting the launch down to the surface."

"Thanks,” said Fire as one of the cooks handed her a plate with a green chile quiche and some hash browns.

"So, when are we scheduled to meet with Ambassador Lip-shit?” asked Manuel as he looked skeptically at the quiche, but after his first bite, he ate several more enthusiastic bites then gulped down his first cup of coffee.

"Lifshitz,” corrected Fire.

Laura frowned disapprovingly at Manuel. “All she got was an automated reply telling us which landing bay to come down in.” She stood to retrieve her own cup of coffee and refilled Manuel's cup. “I'm guessing the Ambassador will meet us, or send word where to meet him."

"Doesn't that seem a little odd?” said Manuel around a mouthful of quiche.

Fire inclined her head. “Why? I'm sure the Ambassador and Admiralty are busy with this crisis. In a way, we're lucky to get a meeting at all."